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2 Local Basketball Stars Win Awards in College With Columbia

by Matt Rothman January 6, 2024

by Matt Rothman January 6, 2024 57 views

2 Local Basketball Stars Win Awards in College With Columbia

Abbey Hsu and Riley Weiss. {Josh Wang- Columbia Athletics}

By: Matt Rothman

Columbia University Women’s basketball is having an incredible season, led by former local players Abigail Hsu and Riley Weiss.

Hsu, a Parkland native, played three years at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and was named Ivy League Player of the Week for the second time this year after averaging 20.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in a pair of Big East wins over Providence, 77-52, and Villanova, 77-75. She then won her tenth overall after averaging 24.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 1.5 assists in two more wins.

Hsu came into this season after scoring 606 points and breaking the Ivy League’s single-season record for making 3-pointers for the second year in a row. She was named to the watch list for the Naismith Trophy, which featured the country’s top women’s basketball player. She was also on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List, recognizing the top shooting guard in women’s NCAA Div. I college basketball and Her Hoop Stats later named Hsu to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Watch.

She was also named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List, recognizing the top shooting guard in women’s NCAA Div. I college basketball and Her Hoop Stats later named Hsu to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Watch. Hsu ranks 11th in the country with 21.0 points per game and averages 7.2 rebounds.

“It’s been a gift to get to play alongside Abbey this year,” Weiss said. “She’s a great player and an even better teammate. It’s been awesome to learn from her. I really look up to her and admire her work ethic.”

Weiss won her first Ivy League Rookie of the Week award after averaging 13.0 points across the two wins. She scored a career-high 17 points against Villanova, coming off the bench after scoring over 40 points per game during her sophomore and junior years. Weiss scored 2,906 career points in high school, including five 50-point games, and won a Gold Medal at the 2022 Maccabiah Games with Team USA.

Hsu feels like Weiss has a chance to become one of the best players to ever come through the program.

Playing next to Riley has been so fun so far,” Hsu said. “She reminds me so much of my freshman self, except she’s way more talented than I was. I’m so excited to see her keep growing. She loves the game of basketball so much and just loves to work on her game.”

Columbia is 9-4 this year and will begin the new year on January 6 against the University of Pennsylvania.

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Matt Rothman

Matt Rothman is a 2018 graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University receiving his bachelor’s degree in journalism and then graduated from the University of Florida as a graduate student. He also works for the Mohave Valley Daily News in Bullhead City, Arizona covering high school sports.